Fight Between PM, Supreme Court Chief Stirs Legal Ire

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is facing growing criticism from Canada’s legal community over his comments about the integrity of the country’s top judge, with law deans on Wednesday demanding he withdraw his remarks immediately.

Mr. Harper stoked the ire of the country’s lawyers and legal scholars last week, when his aides issued a statement suggesting Canadian Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin might have acted inappropriately by allegedly trying to influence the prime minister on a controversial appointment to the Supreme Court.

Mr. Harper named Mr. Nadon to the top court last October to fill one of three spots on the nine-member panel that are allotted under the Canadian constitution to Quebec representatives. In March, the McLachlin-led Supreme Court ruled the Quebec-born Mr. Nadon didn’t qualify as a Quebec representative because he is a federal judge rather than a judge in the Quebec judiciary or a lawyer in that province.